On 16/10/2007, Zoney zoney.ie@gmail.com wrote:
Really, I do think to some extent people have lost the plot with regards to this, so I don't know that it's entirely a bad thing if people post replies; both those who did and didn't see the OP as a joke. I.e. I would barely be surprised if some Wikipedians actually took a critical line towards the Simpsons just on this.
Look at the response to The Register's criticism for example. Seriously, IMO they are perfectly justified in continuing to even troll in their criticism as long as Wikipedian reactions are so OTT
Ah, yes. "Is the Register ever considered a reliable source per WP:Notability? Is there some way we can list it as being unsuitable for referencing?"
And we veer back into self-parody again...
I've written before about the project sliding deeper and deeper into a 'siege mentality' - us versus them, the outsiders are big and evil and scary, we must protect ourselves, we must build bigger walls, etc. Both the response to external criticism and the "attack sites" thing are examples of this - but they're also both the sort of thing that *perpetuate* it, help drive the community into a more and more insular, paranoid, unhappy state.